#NoKXL: Thousands march in D.C. against Keystone pipeline

Members of the The Cowboy and Indian Alliance protest across the street from US Secretary of State John Kerry's house April 25, 2014 in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, with "a traditional ceremony praying that the secretary listens to his conscious and the science and rejects Keystone XL" (AFP Photo / Paul J. Richards)

Thousands have been marching in Washington DC to protest against the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Launched by Cowboy and Indian Alliance, the six-day event “Reject and Protect” is aimed at urging President Barack Obama to refuse the project.

A mass crowd of protesters joined Saturday the anti-pipeline
rally in Washington to say ‘No” the proposed Keystone pipeline -
a $5.4 billion project that would pump tar sand oil from Alberta,
Canada through the US to Texas refineries.

Chanting slogans and carrying placards, demonstrators called on
the president to “protect our sacred land” and “sacred
water.” Participants of the event say on twitter that
“thousands of #NoKXL supporters” took to streets for the
demonstration.

The event kicked off on Tuesday with the Cowboy and Indian
Alliance, a group of ranchers, farmers, and tribal communities
from along the Keystone pipeline route, riding on horseback
through the American capital.

Dressed in traditional clothes – cowboy hats and native
headdresses – demonstrators marched through downtown DC and set
up a camp with traditional tepees on the National Mall near the
White House. The encampment has been the center of the week-long
protest which included a whole bunch of events such as ‘water
ceremonies,” “music and sharing stories,” documentary shows,
flash-mob round dance and other ceremonies. Saturday though was
planned as the most important day of the week, with several
thousands of people expected to join the protest.

“In the American imagination, cowboys and Indians are still
at odds. However, in reality, opposition to the Keystone XL tar
sands pipeline has brought communities together like few causes
in our history.Tribes, farmers and ranchers are all people of the
land, who consider it their duty as stewards to conserve the land
and protect the water for future generations,” a statement
on the official website for the Reject and Protect movement said.

Once bitter rivals - cowboys and Indians, aboriginal and
non-aboriginal people, from across the US and Canada - have come
together to fight against the pipeline.Activists fear that if the
project, which is yet to be given a go-ahead, may cause severe
damage to the environment, pollute water sources and pose a
threat to public health.

“We’re here to show Obama, to show Washington DC the very
faces of the people that the decision of the KXL pipeline
represents,” Dallas Goldtooth, one of the activists told a
crowd on the mall, as cited by ABC. “These people represent
families, they represent communities, they represent entire
nations, so they’re here to bring their stories here to say no to
the Keystone XL pipeline and to all pipelines.”

“We came to D.C. with a lot of resolve to make sure that the
president sees our faces, and sees the images of cowboys and
tribes working together,” said Jane Kleeb, a Nebraska
political activist who has helped lead the protest movement,
according to CBC News website. “We think those messages from
the communities that will be directly impacted will stay with the
president, whether he's making a decision today or a decision in
2015.”

The project has been mulled over for quite a while now: Canada's
oil industry applied to build the pipeline several years ago but
it still needs to get the green light from Washington. The
planned pipeline has seen strong opposition in the US, with many
believing the carbon-intensive impact that results from the
extraction of tar sands will worsen the effects of climate
change. They also fear the pipeline will put nearby communities
at risk of oil spills and their subsequent fallout.

Last week, the White House postponed the decision on the Keystone
oil pipeline, saying that it would give more time for federal
agencies to weigh in on the project, and setting no new deadline
for comments.

The Calgary-based company that wants to build the pipeline,
TransCanada Corporation, said it was “extremely disappointed and
frustrated with yet another delay”.

“Keystone XL improves American energy security, minimizes the
environmental and safety impacts of moving that oil to U.S.
refineries, helps contribute to jobs and American businesses and
continues to have the support of a strong majority of Americans
and Congress. It is truly in the national interest of America and
a majority of Americans in poll after poll after poll continue to
agree and just want this pipeline built,” Russ Girling,
TransCanada’s CEO and president said in a statement.